Sanitary toilet apparatus



C. W. FISHER.

Y SANITARY TOILET APPARATUS.

APPHCATION FILED APR. 7, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

[7706/7250]; Mil/am.-

dtcrmb C. W. FISHER.

SANITARY TOILET APPARATUS. APPLl CATION FILED APR. 7. 1919.

1,376,926. Patel lted May 3, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES W. FISHER, 0F WELLSVILLE, KANSAS.

SANITARY TOILET APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WV. FISHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Wellsville, in the county of Franklin, State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary ToiletApparatus, of which the following is a full and exact specification.

The present invention relates to toilet apparatus and aims to provide animproved apparatus of this character whereby a temporary sanitarycovering may be conveniently applied to the seats of toilet appliancesfor each occasion on which the toilet seat is used.

Accordingly one of the objects of the invention is to provide improvedautomatic means by the operation of which a temporary sanitary coveringis applied in proper position over the top surface of the toilet seat,and retained in this position long enough to permit its use by theperson using the toilet.

A further object is to provide an improved apparatus of this characterin which a magazine containing a supply of the temporary sanitarycoverings is maintained in connection with the seat, from which magazinethe temporary coverings are withdrawn one at a tim each timethe toiletis used.

, In carrying out the invention in practice,

' I. have devised an apparatus in which the cover for the toilet seat isarranged to constitute a supply magazine for the temporary coverings forthe seat, and the raising and lowering movement of said cover isutilized for effecting the withdrawal of said coverings and theapplication thereof to the seat. For accomplishing this object I providesuction means associated with the seat and operated by the movement ofthe cover to exert a .suctional action on the lowermost sanitarycovering when said cover is in lowered position, thereby detaching thelowermost covering and retaining the 'same upon said seat as the coveris lifted.

It is also sought to provide a sanitary covering of a type adapted forthe above use and also for being automatically removed from the seatanddischarged when the toilet is flushed, for which purpose the covering isformed with a flap portion which depends into the bowl of the stool inposi- Specification of Letters Ifatent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application filed April 7, 1919. Serial No. 288,379.

tion to be subjected to the flushing action of the toilet.

With these general objects in view, the invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating one form ofconstruction which I have devised for embodying the improve ments, afterwhich the novel features therein Wlll be set forth in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings Figure l is a perspective view of a toilet apparatusconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2'is a side elevation of the same, partly in sectlon, and with thehinged seat cover in closed position;

F g. 3 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the toilet seat;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail view,

taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3, but showing ,the piston in loweredposit-ion;

Fig. 6 is ase'ctlonal view, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional detail view showing a portion of thetoilet seat and cover at a point where one of the suctional elements islocated; and Fig. 8 is a similar detail view showing a modified form ofsuction means.

Referring to the drawings in detail, these illustrate the improvedfeatures in connection with an ordinary form of toilet stool 8, having amovable seat 10 as well as a movable set cover 12, each provided withhinge elements 14 for pivotally mounting said seat and cover upon thebrackets 1'6 carrying the hingepins 18. In the present construction,however, th movable cover 12 is of hollow form to constitute a suitablemagazine 20 for a supply of temporary sanitary paper cover1ngs 22 of thesame general shape as the seat 10, but also formed with a central.tongue-shaped flap portion 24 adapted. to drop through the seat openingand depend 'within the stool as hereinafter explained.

The coverings 22 are retained within the.

magazine 20 by means of retaining lugs 26 engaging the outer margins ofthe cover- 22, and turn-buttons 28 engaging the inner margins and alsothe edges of the flap portions 24, said turn buttons being mounted on asuitable partition 30 which divides said flap portions from the outerportions of the coverings. The coverings 22 are held yieldingly inengagement with said turn buttons and retaining lugs by means of afollower erings may be removed one by one by ap- I -propriate mechanismadapted to take hold of the exposed lowermost covering of the magazineand pull thesame out of engagement withthe elements 26 and buttons 28.For the purpose of disengaging the coverings 22 as just stated, Iprovide a suction mechanism operated by the movement of the cover 12 insuch a way as to produce a suction at the top surface of the seat 10when said cover is in lowered position, and thereby retain one of thecoverings 22 when the cover 12 is lifted. Accordingly, I provide a pumpdevice which-comprises a stationary cylinder 36 carried by a hangerbracket 38 located=in fixed position adjacent the stool 8, as bysecuring said bracket to the bottom of the tank 40 of the stool, saidbracket having the split clamping portions 42 for embracing the cylinder36. The,

lower end of this cylinder is open to the atmosphere (see Fig. 5), whileits upper end is closed and provided with a tubular connection 44 to apipe 46 which is arranged in a channel 48 cut in the bottom face of theseat 10. At various points about the seat 10, the said pipe 46 isprovided with nipples 50 extending part way through the seat andprovided with nipple extensions 52 of suitable flexible material suchas. rubber tubing, and of suflicient length to' project slightly abovethe top surface of the seat for engagement with the lowermost sanitarycovering 22. Surrounding the flexible nipple extensions 52 are enlargedrecesses 54 (see Fig. 7) adapted to permit the cover- 22 to be depressedsomewhat within in s sai d recesses and also to facilitate the properengagement of the nipples with said coverings by permitting suchmovement of the nipples as may be necessary (such as either compressionor slight lateral movement) for adapting themselves to the coverings.

Operating within the cylinder 36 is a piston 56 which ,is held normallyat the lower end of said cylinder by the combined action of gravity andof a spring 58, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and'6. Said piston 56. isprovided with a piston rod 60 operating through a guideway 62 at thelower end of the cylinder and also through a guide passage 64 in across-bar 66 which is suspended by a pair of hanger rods 68 securedthereto by clamp screws 70. These rods 68 operate slidingly throughguide lugs 72 at opposite ends of the cylinder 36 and have their upperends connected to a hanger bar 74, which is connected by a pivotal link76 to a crank arm 7 8 carried by one of the hinge pins 18 which turnswith the movement of said cover 12. Thus as "said cover is moved up anddown, the arm 78 and its connections, including the cross-bar 66, arelikewise raised and lowered.

Latching means is provided in order that the piston may be raisedconcurrently with the lowering of the hinged cover and thereafter bereleased to the self-acting movement of said piston under its combinedtween said shoulder and oneside of the cross-bar 64 so as to maintainsaid opening 82 and passage 64 normally out of register, a stop pin 88limiting the movement of the latch under the action'of said spring. One

end of the latch 80 carries a roller 90 which is adapted, on raising ofthe cross-bar 66, to be brought into engagement with a projecting camface member 92 secured to the lower end of the cylinder 36. This resultsin sliding the latch and bringing said opening 82 and passage 64 intoregister and con.- sequently dropping of the piston 56.

In the operation of the apparatus, a supply of temporary sanitary papercoverings 22 of the form described is placed within the magazine 20, asillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and I. With the hinged seat cover 12 in raisedposition as shown in. Fig. 1, the piston 56 is in its lowered positionand supported by the latch 80. The cover 12 is nowlowered to bring thelowermost covering 22 in the magazine down upon the seat and inengagement with the flexible nipple extensions 52. At approximately thisjuncture, the

piston is released by the throwing of the latch 80 through engagementwiththe cam face of the :projection 92. This obviously produces asuctional action through the.

tubular connections and .all of the nipples, and consequently results inthe lowermost covering 22 being held in engagement therewith, so thatthe lifting of the cover 12 will disengage said lowermost covering andleave the same deposited upon the seat 10, the flap portion 24 of saidcovering simply dropping down into the stool through the.

seat opening. The suctional action produced by this suction means willremain effective long enough to retain the covering in its positionuntil the user of the stool occupies the seat. By the time the stool is.

to be flush ed, such suctional action will have matically dischargedentirely disappeared and the flushing of the stool will carry away thewhole sanitary covering along with the contents' of the stool as theflap portion 24 extending down into the stool becomes wet andconsequently heavy and its weight combined with the pull of the flushingaction draws the lighter and now entirely disengaged remaining portionof the paper covering along with it into the bowl. Besides its functionof thus enabling the entire temporary covering to be autowith thecontents of the stool, this flap portion of course also affords aneffective means of protection of the privates of the person using thestool agaist the splash of the water and impurities in the bowl.

In the lifting movement of the hinged cover 12 it-will be noticed thatthe latch is lowered to a point below the lowermost position of thepiston rod 60, whereupon the latch is allowed to spring again intorodsupporting position as shown in Figs. 5 and (3, and the aboveoperation may be repeated.

In Fig. 8 is illustrated a modified and simplified form of suction meanscomprising having a fiara flexible suctional nipple 52 ing mouth portionadapted to insure engagement with the paper covering 22 over anappreciable area, and also having a shoulder portion 95 for resting onthe bottom of the recess 54 of the seat. The lower end of the nipple 52'projects into a recess 96 provided in the lower face of the seat 10where the nipple is provided with a flexible flap valve 97 adapted torelease the coverings are forced down upon the nipple, causing thelatter to be depressed into the recess 5% while said valve temporarilyopens, all as represented by the broken lines in said Fig. 8. hen thepressure on the nipple is released, said valve 97 automatically closesand the nipple assumes its full-line position, thereby producing asuctional action within the nipple in the same manner as in .thepreceding construction. The nipples 52' therefore exercise the samepaper-retaining function as the nipples 52 which are connected with thepump, and if made of the proper size and proportions and sufficientlyflexible, constitute a simple means for embodying this feature of theinvention.

It is apparent from the foregoing that an efficient and comparativelysimple arrangement and construction have been provided for carrying outthe desired objects of the invention. A cheap, clean and effectivesanitary covering for the toilet seat is provided for each time thestool is used, the same being applied and removed without otheroperation than that of simply lowering and raising the hinged cover inthe same manner as is now ordinarily done on each occasion of the stoolsuse. No part of the apparatus is therefore required to be touched airwhen the paper.

except such portion of the cover 12 as is necessary to be engaged forits operation, and the user of the toilet thereafter comes in contactmerely with the fresh and clean sanitary covering 22 which isautomatically applied to the seat for his own individual the flap ofsaid covering affording use, and the further advantage of protecting himagainst contact with any impurities within the toilet bowl.

Obviously the need of such sanitary apparatus is especially apparent andits use particularly advantageous in connection with public toiletswhere there are no restrici Having described the invention, what I claimis:

1. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat,of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being provided with amagazine containing temporarysanitary coverings for said seat, and

means actuated automatically by the movementof said cover for removingone of said coverings from the magazine and depositing the same uponsaid'seat.

2. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat,of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being provided with amagazine containing temporary sanltary coverlngs for said seat, and

suction means operated by the lowering of said cover for detaching oneof said cover lngs from the magazine and depositing the same upon theseat as said cover is lifted.

3. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the comv bination with a toilet seatprovided with'a plurality of suction nipples distributed over its upperface, of a movable cover for said seat provided with a magazinecontaining temporary sanitary coverings for the seat, and means actuatedby the movement of the cover for producing a suctional action throughsaid nipples as the latter are engaged byv the lowermost of saidcoverings and thereby retaining said lowermost covermg upon the seatwhen said cover is lifted.

4. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seatprovided with a plurality of suction nipples distributed over its upperface, of a movable cover for said seat provided with a magazinecontaining temporary sanitary coverings for the seat,

and means including a pumping device having a piston automaticallyactuated by the movement of said cover to produce a suctional actionthrough said nipples as the latter are engaged .by the lowermost of saidcoverings and thereby retaining said lowermost covering upon the seatwhen said cover is lifted.

5. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat,of a movable cover for said seat, said, cover being provided with amagazine containing temporary sanitary coverings for said seat, andsuction means operated by the lowering of said cover for detaching oneof said coverings from the magazine and depositing the same upon theseat as said cover is lifted, said suction means including a pluralityof flexible nipples distributed over the upper through said nipples asthe latter are engaged by the lowermost of said coverings forretaining,-said lowermost covering upon the seat, and means whereby saidpiston is actuated in one direction by the lowering of said cover andthereafter released for selfmovement to produce said suctional action. 77. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat,of' a movable cover. for said seat, said cover being provided with amagazine containing temporary sanitarycoverings for said seat, each ofsaid coverings having a central tongue-shaped flap portion, and suctionmeans operated by the lowering of said cover for detaching one of saidcoverings from the magazine and depositing the same upon the seat withsaid flap'portion of the covering depending within the central portionof the seat. .8. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with atoilet seat, of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being providedwith a magazine containing temporary sanitary coverings for the seat andwith retaining elements engaging the margins of the outermost coveringfor holding the coverings within the magazine, means within the magazinefor forcing said coverings yieldingly in engagement with said retainingelements, and means actuated automatically by the movement of said coverfor disengaging the outermost of said coverings from the magazine anddepositing the same upon said seat.

9. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat,of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being pro: vided with amagazine containing tempo rary sanitary coverings tor the seat, each ofsaid coverings having a central flap portion, said magazine beingprovided with retaining elementsengaging the margins of the outermostcovering and its flap portion for holding the coverings within themagazine, and means actuated automatically by; the movement of saidcover for disengaging the outermost of said coverings from the magazineand depositing the same 'upon said seat with said flap portion of thecovering depending within the central portion of the seat. J

In witness whereof I aflix my si nature.

CHARLES W.'FI S ER.-

